


The List

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: I am the famous SunshineBlueberry, I posted this story on Wattpad, I'm not famous but whatev, Leukemia to be exact, M/M, See if you can find it, hinata has cancer, kageyama is so sweet but he's a grumpy blueberry, kenma is a good friend but he's suffering, there's a big easter egg in this story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2018-12-23 20:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11997027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When Hinata and Kageyama are told that Hinata is diagnosed with leukemia, Hinata creates a list of everything he wants to do before he dies.......And Kageyama takes it upon himself to make those wishes come true.





	1. Chapter 1

Something was wrong with Hinata.

Almost everyone in the volleyball club noticed this.

Hinata always denied when asked if he wasn't feeling well. The more observant people like Sugawara, Daichi and Tsukishima never bought it. They knew Hinata wasn't feeling well.

Hinata could feel 3 pairs of eyes burning his skin. It made him get chills.

He looked up when he saw Kageyama walking towards him with a volleyball. "Oi, Hinata. You ready to start?" he asked. Hinata stood up and attempted to smile despite how he was feeling now. "Yep!"

Hinata was about to run to the net when Kageyama grabbed his arm. He looked over his shoulder in confusion. "Heey, what gives?"

"How're you sweating so much when we haven't even started?" Kageyama asked, gesturing at Hinata's upper half. Hinata felt his forehead and neck, feeling his hand coat in sweat.

He shrugged. "It's hot in here, I guess."

"It's warm. Literally no one in here except you is sweating."

Hinata shrugged again. "Well, I dunno. Let's just start, okay? I'm fine."

Kageyama kept his eyes on Hinata but continued to follow him. He positioned himself at the end of the net as Hinata stood at the far end of the court. He nodded, which gave Hinata the signal to start running. Kageyama waited for the perfect moment before tossing the ball towards Hinata, who began to fly through the air.

He brought his hand back and swung...

....only to feel nothing but air.

Hinata landed on his feet and started at the ball in shock as it bounced on the court, untouched.

"DUMBASS, THAT WAS A PERFECT TOSS! HOW COULD YOU MISS IT?!" Kageyama yelled, stomping his foot.

"One more!" Hinata yelled before running back to the end of the court.

The two tried again but Hinata missed again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Kageyama finally got tired and threw a volleyball away. "That's it! You missed 5 times already! We're not making any progress!"

Hinata was leaning on the net post as sweat dripped off his chin, panting for air. His vision blurred but he shook his head. He looked up at Kageyama. "One more!"

"Will you actually hit the ball this time-" Kageyama cut himself off as he looked at Hinata.

"What?" Hinata asked.

"Your nose, it's bleeding..."

Hinata was finally aware of the blood dripping from his nose and he brought his hand underneath his chin. Kiyoko immediately brought a tissue and gently wiped Hinata's face. Sugawara walked towards Hinata and put a hand on his shoulder. "How did you get a nosebleed? You didn't get hit by the ball."

"I-I don't know..."

"That's the third time today his nose began to bleed." Kageyama said.

Sugawara began to poke Hinata's side. "And have you been losing weight?"

"I haven't been trying to!"

Sugawara suddenly got a grim expression on his face and he ran back to Daichi, turning him around and beginning to urgently whisper, which unsettled Hinata.

Sugawara had a pained expression on his face as he whispered to Daichi, who was trying to calm him down. Sugawara turned away and took out his phone only to have Daichi grab his hand and say something to him. Sugawara whipped his head around.

"THIS IS SERIOUS, DAICHI!" he suddenly yelled, startling everyone in the gym. Sugawara looked over his shoulder.

"Hinata, you're going home. Now. And you won't be attending volleyball practice tomorrow either." he ordered.

Hinata widened his eyes. "What? Why? I feel fine!"

"Don't say that unless you know what's going on with your body! Now do as I say and go home!" Sugawara turned away and began to dial a number on his phone. Daichi had a hand on his shoulder as Sugawara began to frantically talk on the phone.

Hinata huffed and stomped toward his bag, snatching it up and walking towards the entrance. Kageyama's eyes followed Hinata. He noticed how he was breathing hard and his footsteps were uneven.

Everyone had began to glance at each other in nervousness. Kageyama was about to go to Daichi to ask what was happening when he heard a thud outside.

Sugawara must have heard it too, because he looked over his shoulder. "What was that?"

Nishinoya, who was the closest to the door, ran towards it and peeked out. "Hinata!" he suddenly yelled before running outside. Sugawara immediately ran after Nishinoya followed by Daichi and Kiyoko. Kageyama watched as Sugawara dropped his phone is shock and drop onto his knees, repeating something over and over again.

Hinata... Hinata... Hinata...

Kageyama found himself running towards the entrance. He looked to his left and saw something that made his heart drop.

Hinata lay unconscious on the ground, a small puddle of blood forming near his head.

Hinata had passed out and, in the process, hit his head on the concrete.

Kageyama brought a hand to his mouth as he watched Sugawara call an ambulance, Nishinoya take a few steps back, and Daichi and Kiyoko trying to shake Hinata awake.

Kageyama couldn't take his eyes off Hinata. He looked so weak and fragile as he laid there on the ground, the complete opposite of his normal energetic and happy self.

The ambulance soon arrived and paramedics lifted Hinata onto the stretcher, placing an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. They carefully placed him inside the ambulance before shutting the door and driving off.

The whole volleyball club was shaken up. Even Tsukishima looked a little unsettled. Daichi slowly turned his head to everyone. "Volleyball practice is cancelled for a while... Someone please be sure to inform Takeda-sensei what happened..." he said. Everyone nodded before parting to collect their belongings.

Kageyama was left in a daze. He couldn't think straight.

Then again, nobody could...

Hinata didn't come to school for the next 5 days. Though Kageyama didn't realize it, but he would always come to Hinata's homeroom, checking to see if he was there. He saw nothing but an empty desk with Hinata's messy doodles drawn on it.

Without Hinata, he felt lonely. Even when he was around people.

Especially when he was around people.

He was so used to eating with Hinata, he didn't really know how to interact with others.

He was lonely.

He missed him.

He wouldn't admit it...

...but he missed Hinata.

\---

Kageyama walked through the doors of the hospital, feeling a little uncomfortable. He had never been in a hospital by himself before. He gulped and walked towards the counter, waiting for someone to notice him.

Soon, a lady with glasses came and sat on the chair in front of him. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"U-Um, I-I'm here for Hinata Shouyou..." Kageyama stammered, playing with his fingers. Why was he so nervous?

"Room 133, sir." The lady replied. Kageyama nodded as a thank you and walked down the hallway.

It took 15 minutes to finally find Hinata's room. He took a deep breath before slowly opening the door. He peeked inside and saw Hinata sitting up on the bed, a bandage around his head, as he stared out the window.

At the sound of the door opening, Hinata turned his head. A huge smile spread across his face when he saw Kageyama.

"Kageyama? Oh man, I wasn't expecting to see you here! You're the last person I thought who'd visit me!"

Kageyama stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him. "Gee, thanks..." he said, rolling his eyes.

"It's nothing bad. I mean, it's not like anyone didn't visit me. Daichi and Sugawara came by 2 days ago. So did Nishinoya, Asahi and Tanaka. Even Tsukishima came by, but I think that was just because Yamaguchi was with him."

Kageyama bit his lip harder and harder with each word Hinata said. When did they visit him? How come they didn't let him know?

Hell, why did Tsukishima even bother?

"I see..." he muttered. "How're you feeling?"

Hinata raised his arm up and gave him a thumbs up. "I feel peachy actually! I think I passed out because I haven't been getting enough sleep or eating enough. " he said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. He recovered from his brief embarrassment and looked up, a gleam in his eyes. "I hit my head pretty hard though. I can still feel it."

He brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them. "They've been giving me these pills to take though. 'Just in case', they said" he said, using the quote finger movements.

Kageyama nodded, looking down at the ground. Hinata tilted his head in confusion before turning around and dangling his legs off the bed. He reached out and tugged Kageyama's sleeve.

"Kageyama? What's the matter?" he asked, concern clear in his tone.

Kageyama looked up only to look away. "I-We were all worried about you..." he muttered.

"But it's okay! I'm fine!" Hinata smiled. However, his smile soon faded. "But..."

Kageyama leaned forward, his heart beginning to race. "But?"

"The doctors wanna run a few tests on me... Just to make sure I'm well enough to get discharged." Hinata continued, beginning to play with his fringe.

Kageyama nodded in understanding. Hinata will be just fine. By next week, they'll be back on the court together and everything will be okay.

"I guess I should go. You should rest anyway." Kageyama said, turning to head towards the door.

"You'll come back tomorrow, right?" Hinata asked.

Kageyama looked over his shoulder. "You want me to come back tomorrow?"

Hinata's cheeks turned an adorable shade of red and he looked away. "J-Just for the tests... I'm kinda...sorta...really scared...." he admitted, pouting as he puffed his cheeks out.

Kageyama stared at him for a while before gently whacking him on the head.

"Wuss."

"S-Shut up!"

"I'll come back early in the morning. I'll bring some food for you too."

Hinata felt his heart feel fluttery inside for only a second. He smiled.

"Thanks!"


	2. Chapter 2

Hinata didn't get any sleep last night. He was too busy fretting and worrying about today.

He laid awake, staring up at the ceiling as his thoughts swarmed around in his head.

What's wrong with me?

Am I really okay?

Will I be able to play volleyball with Kageyama again?

Every time he would try to fall asleep, he would just wake back up again about 5 minutes later.

Not to mention the hospital was downright boring as hell. The only thing that Hinata really could do was stare out the window, watching the citizens below go about their business.

He laid back down on the bed, raising his arm up and observing the red spots that had begun to spread over his skin. He pouted as he scratched at them, grumbling under his breath.

Someone suddenly knocked on his door. Hinata turned his head as a nurse came in.

"Mr.Hinata, you have a visitor." she said before stepping aside. Kageyama peeked inside and Hinata immediately sat up.

"Kageyama!"

Kageyama stepped inside, a bag in his hand.

"I came by just like I promised." he said, bringing a chair up to Hinata's bed and sitting down.

Kageyama took a small bento box decorated in little volleyball designs. "I made this for you. I-It's my first time trying to make one so don't expect it to be extremely good!"

Hinata took the bento from Kageyama and stared at it. "T-Thanks! Who helped you?" he asked, knowing full well Kageyama couldn't cook to save his life.

"I asked Yachi to help me with just a little bit but I made the sushi!"

"Then I definitely know not to eat the sushi."

Kageyama gripped Hinata's head, pulling his hair and squeezing his skull.

"OW OW OW, KAGEYAMA! I'LL GO BALD! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO TREAT A HOSPITAL PATIENT LIKE THIS!"

Hinata slapped Kageyama's hand away and rubbed his head. "You know, sometimes I think you need to attend anger management classes."

Kageyama scoffed before turning his head to look up at the clock. "What time is the doctor who's running the tests on you supposed to arrive?" he asked.

Hinata shrugged, gently placing the bento box on the table next to his bed. "I'm not sure about the actual time but I'm pretty sure they should be coming soon."

Hinata picked up the chopsticks and held up a some white rice. The smell was mouth-watering but at the same time it made him kind of sick.

He placed the rice in his mouth and chewed, grimacing at the slightly foreign feeling on his tongue. He hadn't been eating a lot since he hasn't been feeling hungry nowadays.

He gagged and covered his mouth, alerting Kageyama. "Are you okay? What's wrong? Do you need to puke?"

Hinata quickly took a napkin and spat out the chewed up rice in it.

"I -I'm fine... I just..." he slowly pushed the bento box away. "...don't feel very hungry..."

"Is the food that bad?" Kageyama asked, a frown on his face.

Hinata violently shook his head. "No, no, no, no, no, no! It's not you, it's me! I haven't been feeling hungry these past few days, so it would make sense I wouldn't be hungry today!"

"Isn't that the same reason why you're at the hospital in the first place? Not eating enough and thus causing fatigue?"

Hinata was about to say something when someone knocked on the door and peeked inside. A woman with chin-length brown hair, glasses, and a kind face carrying a clipboard and a small box stepped inside.

Hinata's cheeks turned into a light red as he stared at the woman. Kageyama noticed this and felt a very slight pang of anger rise in his chest.

"Good morning, Hinata!" she said, smiling and gently closing the door behind her.

"Who're you?" Kageyama asked, not giving Hinata a chance to respond.

"I'm Nagisa Muramatsu and I'm here to take a sample of Hinata's blood and bone marrow. You can just call me Nagisa though."

Hinata furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Bone marrow as well? They told me it was just gonna be my blood."

Nagisa frowned. "The pills we've been giving you haven't been working as we thought. We're...thinking something may be wrong."

Kageyama widened his eyes while Hinata gripped the bedsheets.

"B-But it's just a thought! We're not 100% sure and that's exactly why I'm here now." she quickly added, smiling to reassure the two boys.

Nagisa placed her equipment on the table and sat down in a chair next to Kageyama. She took a rather large needle and examined it a little. Hinata gulped.

"Alrighty now." she said, turning to Hinata and gently grabbing his arm.

"I-Is it gonna hurt?" Hinata whimpered.

"You'll feel a sharp pinch but I promise it'll be over before you know it. Just don't look, okay?"

Nagisa made sure Hinata's blue-green vessel was visible before she held the needle above it.

Hinata couldn't take his eyes away as he stared at the needle in fear. He suddenly felt something grab his chin and turn his head to the other side. He found himself staring at Kageyama's stern face.

"W-What're you-"

"She said don't look. If you're gonna look at something, look at me. Got it?"

Hinata didn't answer. His cheeks felt super hot and he was pretty sure Kageyama could feel it. 

He didn't even feel the needle insert into his skin.

"There. That wasn't so bad, was it?" Nagisa said, smiling.

Hinata quickly pulled away from Kageyama's hand, his face still a bright red color. Nagisa giggled a little before placing gloves on her hands.

"I'm going to examine you now, Hinata." she said, taking a small flashlight out. Hinata nodded, sitting on the edge on the bed.

Nagisa gently held Hinata's face and shined the flashlight in his dark pupils.

"Your eyes look normal. Do you feel tired often?"

"Y-Yeah, sometimes..."

"I see..." she muttered, her voice carrying something that made Hinata worry.

"Nagisa-san, is there something wrong with me?" he asked, his voice shaking a bit.

"I'm not sure. I think you may have something but I need to test your bone marrow. Let me feel your stomach."

Hinata lifted his hospital gown up, thankful that he had on knee length boxers on. Nagisa felt his stomach, pressing down on some places.

"You haven't been eating." she said, feeling his rib cage.

"I haven't been hungry in a while..."

"Your liver is larger than it should be... I suspect you bleed and bruise easily?"

"Yeah..."

"I've also noticed that your arms have red spots covering them."

"I noticed these just last night..." With each question asked, Hinata was getting more and more concerned.

Kageyama kept on staring at Nagisa's face. Judging by her facial expression, he knew that something was wrong.

"Someone informed me that you ran a fever a day after you arrived at the hospital. Is that true?"

"Yes... Nagisa-san, what's wrong with me?"

"I don't wanna scare you. I'm gonna insert the needle again, okay?"

She took out another needle and gently placed over his hip bone. Hinata turned his head away to look at Kageyama, who stared staright back at him. He winced as the needle was inserted into his bone. A few minutes passed before Nagisa took the needle out. She took out a cotton ball and lightly doused it in isopropyl alchohol, gently wiping the small puncture before putting a bandage on it.

"Is he okay?" Kageyama asked.

Nagisa didn't answer and stood up. "I'll have to see the results of your testing to see if my hypothesis is correct. They should be ready by tomorrow evening. But in the meantime, don't worry so much. Make sure to eat lots of veggies, fruits and things like that. I'll make a request for you to get out of this room for a while and get some fresh air. You're starting to look paler than a vampire now."

Hinata nodded. "T-Thank you, Nagisa-san..."

Nagisa bowed before packing her equipment up and leaving the room.

The room was silent. Kageyama looked over at Hinata, who was staring at the ground with his fists clenched.

"Oi. You okay?" he asked.

"I'm scared...Nagisa looked like something was really wrong with me..."

"I'm sure you're fine."

Hinata sighed. "Come back tomorrow. I want someone to be there with me when I get the results..."

"Do you want me to bring anyone else?" Kageyama asked.

"Just you."

Kageyama nodded and stared out the window, his thoughts swarming.

Was something wrong with Hinata?


	3. Chapter 3

Hinata lay on his side, staring at Kageyama as he worked on homework.

"Geez, Kageyama. How much more homework do you have?" Hinata asked, flopping onto his stomach and burying his face in his pillow.

"Not too much." Kageyama replied, not looking up from his paper. Hinata turned his head to him.

"Am I missing out on a lot of work? I don't wanna be too behind when I go back to school."

Kageyama shrugged. He wanted to say 'That is, if you're able to go back to school.' but he thought better of it and said "Not a lot."

Hinata sat up, turning his head to the window. "It's soooo boring in here! I wanna go back to volleyball practice again. Everything's so depressing here." he said, leaning his chin on the window sill.

Kageyama took his eyes off his book and looked at Hinata.

It did seem boring to be cooped up in a hospital room all day.

Sighing, he dug into his pocket and took out his phone. "Here."

Hinata looked over his shoulder, widening his eyes at the phone.

"Don't drop it." Kageyama said, giving Hinata a look as he took the phone from his hands. Hinata turned the phone on and a black screen came up. He snickered. "Wow, Kageyama, you're so boring," he said.

Kageyama glared at him.

Hinata ignored this and looked through his phone. He frowned and looked at Kageyama. "You don't have anything on here!"

"Browse the Internet."

"But there's no Internet in the hospital. At least not in the patient's room."

Kageyama shrugged. "Welp...Sorry."

Hinata puffed his cheeks and was tempted to throw the phone at Kageyama's head. He sighed and stared at the apps on the phone. They were the apps that came with the phone. 

He tapped the camera icon and tapped the photos Kageyama took.

He only had 4 pictures.

Hinata widened his eyes.

They were all pictures of him.

The first one showed him perfectly receiving a ball at the right moment.

The second one showed him packing up the equipment, a yawn spreading across his face.

The third one showed him leaning against the wall, fast asleep.

'Creep.' he thought, though a smile slowly crept on his face.

The fourth one showed him in the air, in the process of spiking a ball. It really did look like he was flying.

Hinata snickered. "Oi, Kageyama! Why do you have pictures of me on your phone?"

Kageyama, as if struck by lighting, jolted, whirled around, and snatched the phone out of his hands.

"YOU DUMBASS, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" he yelled, a blush creeping onto his face.

Hinata wiggled his eyebrows and smirked. "Dawww...Never knew you had so much interest in me that you had to take pictures, Kageyama-kuun~"

That pissed Kageyama off.

He got up from his chair, a murderous look in his eyes. Hinata backed up onto the wall. "N-Now hold on, I was just joking! No need to get so angry-"

"I don't like it when people stick their noses into other people's businesses that doesn't concern them."

Hinata stared for a while before chuckling nervously. "U-Um... Technically, since I was the one you took pictures of, that kinda-sorta makes it my busincess... Just saying..."

Kageyama's eye twitched. "That's it, you little-"

"GAH, NO! KEEP AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY-"

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Hinata, seizing this chance to get away from being killed, yelled out "C-Come in!"

The door opened, and Nagisa peeked in.

"Good morning, Hinata-kun!" she said, smiling. She looked over at Kageyama. "Good morning, Kageyama-kun. You're here early."

Kageyama just nodded.

Nagisa turned back to Hinata.

Her smile looked different.

It looked sad.

"The test results are in."

Hinata gulped. Kageyama bit his lip nervously.

"B-But before I give them to you, here," Nagisa handed him a small journal decorated with volleyballs. Hinata took it with shaky hands. "Just a little something you can interact with..."

"T-Thank you..." he mumbled.

Nagisa exhaled before taking a seat. She shuffled through the papers before taking one out.

She pursed her lips into a thin line.

"I-I'm sorry... It appears that you have leukemia..."

It appears that you leukemia

appears that you have leukemia

that you have leukemia

you have leukemia

have leukemia

leukemia...

Hinata stared at, comprehending each of the words that came out of Nagisa's mouth.

Beside him, Kageyama widened his eyes in horror. "A-Are you sure? T-There hasn't been a mistake?"

Nagisa sadly shook her head.

Kageyama gripped his hair in his fist. "Damn it! Damn it!"

Hinata was still staring into space.

"I'm...going to...die?" he whispered.

"There's chemotherapy available." Nagisa added.

"He'll take it." Kageyama quickly said.

"However, there's a chance it may not work..." Nagisa continued.

Kageyama ran his fingers through his hair. "Shit...How long does he have?" he asked, the question itself sending fear through his body.

"Mid July..."

It was November now.

Hinata would have eight months. If the chemotherapy treatment doesn't work, he would die at 17, considering his birthday was in June.

Hinata looked out the window.

"I-I need some time alone...Please..."

Nagisa nodded, got up, and left the room. Kageyama stayed put.

Hinata looked at him from the corner of his eye. "That means you too, you know..."

Kageyama felt his heart break for a brief second before he got up and walked towards the door. Casting one last glance at the orange haired boy, he left the room as well.

Hinata continued to stare out the window.

Leukemia? That was a type of cancer, right?

Cancer...

He still had so much he wanted to do...

Become the ace...

Meet the Little Giant...

Represent Japan...

It wasn't fair...

It just...

...wasn't fair.

A tear slipped down his cheek.

And then another.

And another.

And another.

And another.

Tears poured down Hinata's cheeks as he buried his face in his hands, hard sobs racking his body. His breath came in quick gasps as he struggled to catch his breath. He fell back onto the bed, sobbing out his anguish, frustration, and anger.

Outside the room, Kageyama leaned against the door. Hearing Hinata cry so hard made his heart shatter with each gasping breath the smaller boy did inside.

He clenched his fist.

There was an innocent soul in that room, crying his heart out, with only eight months to live, that was plagued with a disease that could ruin everthing...

...And he could do nothing about it.

Kageyama slid down to the ground, hugging his knees to his chest. Tears stung his eyes.

He cried with Hinata, burying his face in his knees.


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as Kageyama walked inside his homeroom class, he was surrounded by a sudden crowd and bombarded with questions.

"Kageyama-kun, you said that Hinata-kun would be getting his test results yesterday!"

"What were they?"

"Is he okay?"

"Will he be back in school soon?" 

Kageyama waited until everyone had quieted down. He didn't even feel like dealing with anyone from his class.

"He has leukemia..." he mumbled as he made his way to his seat.

A shocked murmur spread throughout the classroom.

"No way!"

"You're joking!"

"Oh, poor Hinata-kun!"

"We should do something for him! Like, send him some get well cards!"

"Yeah, we should."

Kageyama bit his lip as his classmates chattered continuously about Hinata's condition.

'You don't even know him as much as I do...It's none of your business...' He thought bitterly, bringing his hands up to cover his ears.

The class president was already going on and on about raising money for Hinata so he would be able to get surgery if possible. Many of the other students agreed.

She turned to Kageyama, who had his head down. "Hey, Kageyama-kun, do you wanna be in charge of it all? Since you talk to Hinata-kun a lot-"

Kageyama suddenly jumped out of his seat and pelted out of the classroom. He couldn't take it anymore.

'Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. All of you just shut up!' he angrily thought, sprinting through the hallways.

He ran and ran and ran until his lungs burned and begged for air. He stopped by the boy's bathroom and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.

In all honesty, running didn't help at all. Kageyama recalled the memory of him and Hinata venting out their anger and frustration after losing to Aoba Johsai by running around the gym whilst randomly spiking and throwing volleyballs.

His lips slightly curled up at the memory but it quickly faded. He wanted to cry. 

"Kageyama-kun?"

Kageyama looked to his right and saw Sugawara standing there with a confused expression on his face.

"What're you doing here? You look like you just ran a 1000 meter marathon." he subtly joked.

Kageyama looked away. "I-I just needed to let off some steam..." he mumbled.

Sugawara nodded in understanding. He shifted from one foot to the other. "How's Hinata?" he suddenly asked.

Kageyama hesitated and bit his lip."H-He...He-" his voice was breaking as he struggled to get the words out.

"He has leukemia, doesn't he?"

Kageyama whipped his head towards Sugawara, who was looking at the ground. "How did you know?"

Sugawara smiled weakly. "My cousin had it. He had the same symptoms Hinata had...Losing weight without trying...Frequent nosebleeds...Red spots on his body..."

"So that's why you acted the way you did the day Hinata passed out..."

Sugawara rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry you had to see that...It's just that I wasn't expecting to see someone else I care about get leukemia so soon after..." his voice trailed away as he bit his lip.

"Suga-san...Did your cousin die from leukemia?"

Sugawara nodded and leaned against the wall next to Kageyama. "He only lasted for 3 months, since he was weak and fragile in the first place," he said, staring straight ahead. "The treatment didn't work."

He turned his head to Kageyama. "How long does Hinata have?"

"Eight months..."

Sugwara took a deep breath. "We'll have to tell the team. I'll tell Daichi and he'll tell Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei. In the meantime, all we do is pray." he smiled. 

Kageyama could tell that smile was fake.

"I'll see you later, Kageyama-kun!" Sugawara said before waving and walking away.

His shoulders were shaking.

\---

The rain gently fell against the hospital window, the shadows of the raindrops filling the quiet room.

Hinata lay on his side, staring at the window with unblinking eyes.

His eyes were red and puffy and dark circles rested under his eyes.

Crying was exhausting, even if it was for just one day.

Hinata raised his hands and wiped his tired eyes, a shaky breath escaping his lips. Tears began to well up in his eyes but he forced them down, not wanting to get a stuffy nose from crying again.

He sat up and rested his cheek on his knees as his eyes traveled to the lonely journal that Nagisa gave him on the desk.

He stared at it and the pen placed inside it. 

Hinata gently kicked his legs over the side of the bed and reached for the journal, just barely grasping it with his fingertips.

He opened it and stared at the empty lined pages.

What was he supposed to do with it?

Talk to it?

Draw in it?

Learn how to make origami?

No.

What did he do with it?

Hinata took out the pen, uncapped it, and began to create a list...

His lips trembled as he wrote down the things he may not get to do.

1.) Have Kageyama toss to me

2.) Go to the zoo and feed a bird

3.) Fly a kite on a nice windy day

4.) Plant a tree

5.) Feed a homeless person

6.) Say "hello" in 5 different languages

7.) Solve a rubiks cube

8.) Go sledding

9.) Build a snowman

10.) Name a star

11.) Kiss a dolphin

12.) See the ocean

13.) Have a day out with my friends (including Tsukishima)

14.) Go to a professional volleyball game with my friends (including Tsukishima)

15.) Go to the spring festival

16.) Have my first kiss

17.) Watch the fireflies at night

18.) Meet the Little Giant

19.) Write a letter to future me

20.)???

Hinata stared at the list with a slight smile on his face. He still had yet to figure out what he wanted for number 20 but he felt like he got out all his feelings for now.

He blushed at what he wrote for number 16. He just didn't want to die without at least having his first kiss. 

He thought that number 18 was kind of impossible, but he could dream. Hinata closed the journal and placed it under his pillow as if it was a tooth that had fallen out and put it for the Tooth Fairy.

Just as he laid down, a gentle knock was heard behind the door. Nagisa stepped inside balancing a tray of food. She smiled at him.

"Hi, Hinata-kun...How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Um...B-Better." Hinata lied. He didn't want to worry her.

Nagisa looked as if she didn't believe him but she nodded. "I brought you something to eat," she said, holding out a tray with some rice, strawberries and grapes, and steamed vegetables. 

Hinata gratefully took it and smiled a little. "Thank you."

"No problem. I'm still getting that request for you to get some fresh air straightened out but it shouldn't be long before you feel the sun on your skin again." she said.

Hinata nodded, enjoying the food she brought him. This has been the first time he's been hungry in a while.

"Kageyama-kun didn't come today?" Nagisa asked.

Hinata shook his head. "No. He had school and I guess he stayed to practice for volleyball."

Nagisa nodded "I see...Oh, your first chemotherapy treatment is scheduled for tomorrow."

Hinata felt his palms began to sweat. "I-It's not gonna hurt, is it?"

Nagisa shrugged. "It depends on how they give it to you. It can be by pills, needle, and other forms."

Hinata nodded in understanding. 

"I'll go get you some water, okay?" Nagisa said, turning around and walking out the door, gently closing it behind her.

Hinata stared after her before turning his head to the window.

He sighed.

It'd be nice to have those 19 things come true.


	5. Chapter 5

Hinata woke up to sound of a door closing and opened his eyes. He rubbed his bloodshot eyes and sat up, stretching his arms out. As his eyes surveyed the room, he noticed the large white card with a balloon that read "GET WELL SOON!" on the table next to his bed.

He looked at it in shock, reached over and took it gently in his hands. He gazed at the front of the card.

From your senpais, coach, instructor, and friends from Karasuno!

Hinata smiled as he stared at the front of the card, which was decorated in more volleyballs he could count, a little doodle of a cute chibi crow with a tuft of orange hair, and excessive glitter (which was most likely done by Tanaka and Nishinoya).

"When did they bring this?" Hinata quietly said to himself as he opened the card and began to read the messages his teammates and friends wrote.

Don't give up hope, Hinata! You're a strong person, so we know you'll win this battle! Praying you'll get well soon!-Daichi, Suga, Asahi

We wish you a full recovery, Hinata!-Yachi and Shimizu

You got a long way to go. Don't give up now. You still have to become the ace.-Tsukishima

Get well soon, Hinata! I still want to be on the court with you!-Yamaguchi

Don't let this stupid disease take you away from your senpais!!! Get well soon!-Tanaka and Noya

We hope you get better soon, Hinata. Keep spreading your wings and fly through this-Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei

We hope you get well soon, Hinata!-Your classmates and homeroom teacher

Hinata grinned to himself. Even Tsukishima wrote him a note.

Just as he was about to put the card back on the table, the door opened and a tall figure walked in holding a carton of milk.

"Kageyama?" Hinata said in shock.

Kageyama looked up at the sound of Hinata's voice. "Oh, you're awake." he said.

"When did you get here? It's been nearly a week since I saw you."

"I was for only ten minutes. I just...wanted to drop off the card the team and your class had been working on." Kageyama mumbled as he sat down in a chair next to Hinata's bed.

Hinata gave him a smile. "I saw it. It was really nice. I didn't see your signature though."

Kageyama shrugged and took a sip of his milk. "I bought the balloon."

"Oh. Well, thanks anyway. I really appreciate it." Hinata said as he laid back down and pulled the covers up to his chin.

Kageyama stared at him, unsure of what to say. He hasn't seen Hinata since the test results and he didn't know what to say or do.

"So...How are you holding up?" he asked, trying to spark a conversation.

Hinata shrugged "I'm feeling a little better." he lied. 

Kageyama frowned and leaned back in his chair. "Come on, tell me the truth. You're scared, aren't you?"

Just hearing that made Hinata tear up and he quickly wiped his eyes. "I-I'm not!"

"H-Hey, don't start crying! I didn't mean it like that..." Kageyama quickly said as he took out a tissue from his pocket and handed it to Hinata. Hinata gratefully took it and wiped his eyes.

"I know something that will cheer you up..." Kageyama mumbled.

"And that is?"

"I met Nagisa down the hall and she said that they were gonna take you outside for a while today."

Hinata looked up, the corners of his lips curled in a gentle smile. "I guess that does make me feel better... I haven't been out of this room in over a week." he said, sitting up.

Kageyama slightly smiled at Hinata's improved mood. "Volleyball's been boring without you." he stated, leaning back in his seat.

"I bet. You have no one to toss or talk to now." Hinata said, a mischievous smirk on his face.

Kageyama glared at him. "Only good thing is that it's quiet now. I don't need to hear your loud mouth all the time."

Hinata put a hand on his heart. "Ouch, right in the heart. You know you can't survive without hearing my loud mouth at least once a day, admit it Yamayama-kun~" he said as he batted his eyes at Kageyama, who furiously blushed and pushed his face away.

"Shut up!" he yelled, though he was happy that Hinata was back to his old self.

That was when the door knocked and Nagisa peeked in. "Hello, Hinata, Kageyama. How're you feeling?" she asked.

"Great! Kageyama and I were gonna go outside, right?" Hinata exclaimed.

Nagisa smiled and nodded. "I was just coming to you for that. However, you can only be outside for a few minutes, ten at the most. Is that okay?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes, anything to get me out of here for a while."

"Here." Nagisa handed Hinata a large jacket with a fur lining on the hood. "It'll be cold out there."

Hinata slipped the jacket on and stood up. "Come on, come on, come on!" he yelled to Kageyama as he speed-walked out the room.

Somehow, despite not being out of his hospital room for over a week, Hinata knew exactly how to get to the exit. He grinned when the hospital doors appeared in his sight.

"Kageyama, hurry up!" 

Kageyama rolled his eyes and made no effort on moving quicker.

Hinata groaned before he grabbed his arm and dragged him along. "You're so slow!"

"Don't rush me, dammit!" Kageyama grumbled.

As the two boys walked out the hospital doors, Hinata let out a squeal of delight and dropped Kageyama's arm.

The sky was gray with clouds covering it and the air had a nice cool smell to it. People were dressed in warm clothing as they walked down the street going on with their lives.

"Civilization!" Hinata exclaimed, breathing in deeply. 

"You act like you've been trapped in prison for years." Kageyama stated.

"Cause' I have!"

Suddenly, a tiny white flake floated down in front of the two boys and they both looked up.

"GWAAH!! Kageyama, it's snowing!!"

"You don't say." Kageyama muttered, though he enjoyed Hinata's happiness.

Hinata smiled as he watched the snow pick up and begin to gather on the ground. He suddenly remembered the things on the list he wrote in his journal and he frowned, recalling that he wanted to (A/N do you wanna...) build a snowman and go sledding. He let out a dejected sigh.

Kageyama noticed this and frowned. "What's wrong?"

Hinata immediately waved his hands. "N-Nothing! I'm just getting a little cold."

"You want my jacket?" Kageyama asked, beginning to shrug off his own jacket.

"No, keep it! I'm not cold!"

"You just said you were!"

"Hinata-kun? It's time to come inside. I don't want you catching a cold."

Hinata turned around and saw Nagisa waving from the hospital, a gentle smile on her face.

"Okay. C'mon, Kageyama, don't tell you're getting old~" Hinata teased as he began to walk inside the hospital.

Kageyama glared at him and clenched his fist. "I don't care if you're sick, I will thrash you!"


	6. Chapter 6

It had only been a few minutes after Hinata had taken his chemotherapy pills and he was already having major side effects.

He had vomited quite a lot to the point where he had to have the trashcan next to his bed and he had a really bad headache.

The discomfort was too much and Hinata wanted to curl up and cry his eyes out.

The only thing that didn't make him wish that the eight months he had would pass by quicker was that Kageyama stayed by his side the whole time.

He was there to hold the trashcan for him if he didn't have the strength to do it, he was there to wipe the vomit off his mouth with a wipe and give him a glass of water, he was there to put a cold towel on his forehead whenever he began to sweat profusely...

Kageyama was just...

...there.

But whenever Hinata would bring it up, Kageyama would put on a passive-aggressive act and just reply "I'm doing it because I'm the only here to do it, you dumbass!"

Hinata would just weakly smile and say "I'm just glad it's you."

Kageyama pretended not to hear him and went back to doing whatever he brought to occupy himself. In this case, it was homework again.

As he struggled with his English, he glanced at Hinata, who had finally fallen asleep.

He thought back to Hinata's childish and bright personality and frowned. It wasn't fair that such an innocent and kind soul such as Hinata had to rely on drugs and medication for his life.

He sighed and was about to turn back to his homework when he noticed something peeking out from under Hinata's pillow.

It looked like the edge of a book.

Curiosity overcame him and he quietly reached over and gently lifted Hinata's head. He slowly pulled the journal out and gently rested Hinata's head back on the pillow.

Kageyama stared at the small book in his hands. Little volleyball designs dotted the cover of the journal and Kageyama recognized it as the journal Nagisa gave Hinata on the day the test results were given to them.

He opened it and looked at the first page. In Hinata's slightly messy handwriting, there was a list of things on the paper.

1.) Have Kageyama toss to me

2.) Go to the zoo and feed a bird

3.) Fly a kite on a nice windy day

4.) Plant a tree

5.) Feed a homeless person

6.) Say "hello" in 5 different languages

7.) Solve a rubiks cube

8.) Go sledding

9.) Build a snowman

10.) Name a star

11.) Kiss a dolphin

12.) See the ocean

13.) Have a day out with my friends (including Tsukishima)

14.) Go to a professional volleyball game with my friends (including Tsukishima)

15.) Go to the spring festival

16.) Have my first kiss

17.) Watch the fireflies at night

18.) Meet the Little Giant

19.) Write a letter to future me

20.)???

Kageyama realized that the list before him were things that Hinata wanted to do before he died. He only had eight months to complete each and every thing.

Kageyama felt his lips curl into a small smile as he read #1. Of course that be the first thing on Hinata's list. He read over the list a few more times, the gears in his head turning as they began to form an idea.

He didn't want this list written in vain. 

He didn't want Hinata to die a miserable death.

He wanted to let Hinata live his life at his fullest.

He wanted Hinata to die with at least a smile on his face.

As Kageyama gently closed the journal, Hinata stirred in his bed and his eyes cracked open. He rolled over onto his side and looked at Kageyama.

"Are you feeling okay? Do you need to puke again?" Kageyama asked.

Hinata shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Kageyama reached over and pressed his palm to Hinata's forehead. "The temperature's gone down a bit. Do you want anything to eat? Anything to drink?"

Hinata snickered a little. "Kageyama, you're acting like Suga-senpai-"

He stopped when he noticed the little journal in Kageyama's hands. His eyes widened at the sight of it.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, sitting up.

Kageyama glanced at the journal before turning back to Hinata again. "I saw it under your pillow."

"So you saw what I wrote?"

Kageyama nodded.

Hinata bit his lip and looked down at the sheets. "It was just something I wrote to get my feelings out, y'know? I mean, I don't expect them to come true but it just makes me feel better to write them down-"

"How bout' we make them happen?"

Hinata froze and looked at Kageyama, his lips parted in shock.

Did he hear right?

"W-What?"

Kageyama placed the journal on Hinata's lap and guided his small hands over it, his larger hands covering them.

"I'll make them happen...Each and every one... I'll make sure you'll be able to see the ocean...I'll make sure you'll be able to plant a tree..." he mumbled, not meeting Hinata's eyes.

"I'll make sure you get to do everything you want to do in eight months..."

Hinata's eyes were wide and glossy with tears as he listened to Kageyama's declaration. He bit his lip to keep it from trembling.

"Y-You don't have to do that, Kageyama..." he said, allowing a tear or two to slip down his cheek.

Kageyama's hands squeezed Hinata's. "But I want to. I want you to be happy..."

Hinata let a little sob escape his lips and Kageyama looked up, his eyes widening at the tears that were streaming down Hinata's face.

"W-W-Why're you crying...?" he asked as he raised his hand up to gingerly brush a tear away.

"I...I'm just...so happy..." Hinata hiccuped, his voice barely audible as he furiously wiped his eyes.

"What-"

Kageyama gets cut off when Hinata suddenly reaches forward and wraps him arms around Kageyama's torso, burying his face in his chest.

"You have no idea how much this means to me, Kageyama...Thank you...Thank you so much..." Hinata said, his voice muffled.

Kageyama blushed and Hinata could feel his heartbeat accelerating. He awkwardly wrapped one arm around Hinata's shoulders and patted his head, slightly running his fingers through Hinata's mop of fluffly orange hair.

The two stayed in that position for a while until they hear the door open. Nagisa peeks in, a smile on her face.

"Hello, boys! How's-"

She stops mid-sentence when she sees the two teenagers in their current position. Hinata and Kageyama quickly pulled away from each other, a furious blush on their cheeks.

Nagisa hid her face behind the clipboard she was holding and quickly backed out of the room. "I'll come back later!" 

Hinata covered his face with his hands. "I'm sorry I don't know what came over me I was just so happy and-"

Kageyama covered his mouth with his hand. "Don't apologize, dumbass..." he muttered, though his heart was still pounding.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hinata. Hinata, wake up." a voice above the sleeping boy said.

Hinata whined and pulled the covers closer to him in a blanket burrito. "Don't wanna..." he grumbled. "Those chemotherapy pills put me through hell yesterday and I'm taking a much needed nap."

"It's two in the afternoon."

"Ask me if I care." Hinata grumbled.

Kageyama rolled his eyes and sighed. He then quickly yanked the sheets from Hinata, unwrapping the smaller boy from his blanket heaven.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing? Give them back!" Hinata exclaimed and reached for the sheets. 

Kageyama held the sheets away from him. "No. It's not good for you to lay around all day. You're not gonna be under these blankets all the time." he said as he tossed some clothes to Hinata, who clumsily caught them.

"Get dressed. We're going out."

Hinata looked up at Kageyama, confusion in his eyes. "Out? As in outside?"

"Yes."

Hinata widened his eyes. "Really? Nagisa said it was okay?"

"She did. We're going to my house by the way. Now hurry your ass up and get dressed. Nagisa said we have three hours." Kageyama said.

Hinata scoffed and stood up. "Okay, jeez! Let me get dressed."

As Kageyama exited the room and waited outside, Hinata changed into the clothes provided for him, which consisted of a graphic tee with a volleyball design on it, some long khaki pants, and a big red jacket with a multi-colored scarf. He fluffed out his hair a little before Kageyama barged in, nearly making him jump out of his skin.

"Times up." Kageyama stated.

"Damn you! Don't you know how to knock?! What if I was changing?!" Hinata yelled, clutching his chest.

"But you weren't. Now come on." Kageyama said, not giving Hinata a chance to say anything before he grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door.

"I'm coming, slow down!"

The two boys hurried through the hallways and out the doors of the hospital. Kageyama walked over to where people locked their bikes to the rack and unlocked it. Hinata watched as he wheeled the bike over to them and mounted on it.

"Hop on." Kageyama commanded. Hinata suppressed a roll of his eyes before settling himself behind Kageyama and propping his feet on the chainstay. Kageyama felt his cheeks heat up when he felt Hinata's slender arms wrap around his waist. He shook his head and began to pedal down the street.

It was cold out and the chilled crisp air of the winter atmosphere soothed Hinata. It was exactly twenty four days before Christmas and Christmas lights covered walls, trees, buildings and even lamp posts, twinkling in every color in existence. 

"Kageyama, look!" Hinata said as he pointed to the decorations. "How bout' we go browse for a bit?" 

"I already have something planned for us to do when we get to my house." Kageyama responded, not taking his eyes off the road. 

"Well, how bout' we go after we do that? Come on, Kageyama, pleeaaaassse?"

Kageyama sighed. They did have three hours out, and what he had planned for them shouldn't take too long...

...And this could also be Hinata's last Christmas.

"Okay, fine." he said and Hinata let out a cheer, nearly unbalancing the bike with his sudden movement.

"HINATA, YOU DUMBASS!"

\---

Kageyama's house wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. It had a tiny front yard with a little swing set covered in snow.

"Aww, you have a swing set! I haven't seen one of those in a long time." Hinata said as he stepped off the bike after Kageyama came to a stop. 

"I liked to swing when I was little." Kageyama replied, stepping off the bike and dragging it in yard where he rested it against the side of the house.

"Your house is nice too." Hinata commented as he walked inside the yard and closed the fence. "What are we doing by the way?" he asked.

Kageyama looked over his shoulder and glared at him. "Be patient, you dumbass. It's supposed to be a surprise!"

"Uwaah, I love surprises!" Hinata cheered as he skipped up the steps to Kageyama's porch. He quickly took his shoes off and waited for Kageyama, who took out a key and unlocked the door.

The first thing Hinata saw was the living room. It had nice olive colored walls and potted plants rested on the light brown shelves hanging on the walls. There was a wooden ceiling fan and a radiator rested in the corner of the room.

"Where's your room?" Hinata asked.

"It's down the hall-"

Hinata wasted no time in running down the hall and peeking in Kageyama's room.

The walls were light blue, a large desk was in the corner of his room with a reading lamp next to it, and his bed was in the upper left corner. Hinata walked inside the room and looked around. He thought it'd be messy but it was actually pretty clean.

Kageyama suddenly appeared in the doorway, seething. "Dumbass, you don't just barge into someone's room without their permission!"

Hinata, oblivious to Kageyama's anger, plopped onto his bed. "So, why are we here? What's the surprise?"

Kageyama didn't reply with words. He just walked to the closet, opened it, and pulled something out.

Hinata's eyes widened and his lips parted in shock.

In Kageyama's hand was a volleyball. It was red, green, and white; just like the ones in the gym. It was also worn, signifying that Kageyama had had this ball for a long time.

"I'm tossing to you. Just like you wanted...Remember?"

Hinata remembered the first thing he wrote on the list.

1.) Have Kageyama toss to me

"Y-You're really about to toss to me?" he asked.

"That's what you wanted, right?" Kageyama replied.

A grin slowly spread across Hinata's face and he leapt off the bed as he pumped his fist in the air. "Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, Kageyama-"

Kageyama held up a finger, shutting off Hinata's rambling. "But. You have to promise me that you'll let me know if you're not feeling well. If you don't, we're skipping browsing the Christmas stores and going straight back to the hospital."

"I promise!" Hinata says before taking the ball out of Kageyama's hands and running outside, Kageyama following close behind him.

It was still cold outside, and a gentle snow had begun to fall. Kageyama looked towards the sky before turning to Hinata, who was positioned next to him.

"You ready?" Hinata asked as he prepared to toss the ball up into the air. 

Kageyama nodded, giving Hinata the signal to toss the ball in the air. Kageyama positioned himself under the ball while Hinata ran forward and leapt into the air.

Kageyama tossed the ball and Hinata swung his arm forward. 

He missed.

The ball rolled into the thin layer of snow on the ground.

Hinata looked at it in shock before running over and picking it up. "I-I haven't played in a while, so it makes sense why I missed. One more! I'll get it this time!" he said, handing the ball over to Kageyama.

"I don't want you to push yourself." Kageyama said as he reluctantly took the ball from Hinata's hands.

"I won't! One more time!"

They tried again.

Hinata missed.

And again.

He missed.

And again.

He missed every time.

Hinata buried his face in his hands. "Damn it!" he yelled.

Kageyama frowned at him and tucked the ball under his arm, walking towards the distressed boy.

"How bout' we try again some other time, when your condition improves a lot?" he suggested.

Hinata was silent for a while before he sighed and slowly nodded. "'Kay..."

"In the meantime, we can go back into town and browse the stores like you wanted."

Hinata, who had seem to have forgotten about the activity, looked up and nodded eagerly. They went back into the house, put on their scarfs, and went out to Kageyama's bike.

"Sorry we have to leave so soon." Kageyama said as he mounted the bike. Hinata climbed on behind him, this time standing up on the chainstays.

"No, it's not your fault." Hinata said, leaning forward and resting his arms on Kageyama's head.

"I can't pedal with you leaning on my head, you dumbass. And sit down! You're gonna fall!"

"No, I won't, I have amazing balance."

"You won't be saying that when you fall off and get run over by some car."

"HOW RUDE!"

They kept on bickering all the way into town, which looked even more decorated than the last time they passed. Hinata didn't even wait for Kageyama to stop the bike before he jumped off.

"Ooh! Kageyama, let's go here! N-No, no, here! No-Wait! Let's go to this one! This one has a cafe attached to it!" Hinata said as he grabbed onto Kageyama's arm and dragging him the store.

The store had a warm and creamy smell to it and Christmas ornaments and knick-knacks were lined up on the shelves. The store was also crowded.

"UWOOH!! It's so cool!" Hinata ran off into the aisles among the crowd of people, causing Kageyama to lose sight of him.

"Hinata! Don't run off, you dumbass!" Kageyama yelled, trying to push through the crowd.

'Great. It's like I'm babysitting a freaking five year old!' Kageyama thought as he tried to peer through the crowd for bright orange hair.

He slapped a palm to his face and groaned before beginning his journey through the many aisles of the store, weaving in and out as he looked for the redhead.

"Hinata, when I find you, I'm gonna kill you. Then I'm gonna bring you back to life so Nagisa won't kill me..." he muttered.

It took Kageyama exactly ten minutes before he found Hinata standing in an aisle, his back turned to him.

"HINATA! YOU ASS! What are you, some kind of toddler?! You can't just-"

Hinata cut him off by turning around and holding something up to his face.

"Kageyama, I wanna buy this." he said.

In his hands was a snow globe. Inside the round glass was a little cottage in the middle of what looked like a forest and Hinata shook it, multiple tiny snowflakes fluttered around the little house.

Kageyama glanced at it. "Out of everything here, you want to buy that?"

"Yeah!"

"A snow globe?"

"Yeah!"

Kageyama sighed. "Fine... I'll pay for it." 

Hinata grinned and ran off to the cashier, Kageyama hurrying to catch up with him. They waited in line until it was their turn.

The cashier smiled at them as she took the snow globe from Hinata. "Will that be all?" she asked.

Hinata nodded while Kageyama took out his wallet. The cashier gave him the price and carefully bagged the snow globe in a small gift bag. She grinned as she handed the gift bag to Hinata. "Hope you and your boyfriend enjoy the holidays!"

Hinata grinned as he turned towards the exit. "We will!"

"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"

\---

Hinata was closely observing the snow globe he gently held in his hands as Kageyama pedaled back towards the hospital.

He gently shook it and smiled as the snow sprinkled down towards the little cottage. 

"Hey, Kageyama. If you lived in a snow globe, what would you do?" he suddenly asked, not taking his eyes of the snow globe.

"What kind of a question is that?"

"An interesting one."

Kageyama rolled his eyes and thought about the question for a while. "I dunno...Maybe I'd watch the snow from my window all the time? Since I like snow."

"Interesting..."

"What would you do?"

"I don't know!"

Kageyama clicked his tongue irritably. "How are you gonna ask me a question like that if you don't have an answer as well?"

Kageyama finally pulled up to the front of the hospital and Hinata hopped off, looking over his shoulder at Kageyama.

"I can get in from here. You go on home."

It looked like Kageyama wanted to protest but he only nodded his head. "Alright."

Hinata smiled at him. "Thanks for today. I had fun." 

"No problem." Kageyama replied.

Hinata waved at him before entering the hospital, leaving Kageyama staring after him.

Kageyama suddenly blushed and rubbed his cheek.

'He didn't deny it when that cashier called us boyfriends...'


	8. Chapter 8

It was busy down at the Karasuno Highschool. Students were preparing the school for Christmas, decorating the hallways with ornaments, wreaths, and mistletoes (courtesy of Nishinoya and Tanaka). In the auditorium sat an enormous Christmas tree with bright lights that lit up the whole room.

Even the volleyball team was personally decorating the gym for Christmas. The third years were busy planning the Christmas party they always held every year, while the second and first years decorated the gym with Christmas decorations.

Thanks to Nishinoya and Tanaka, however, the gym was also covered in mistletoes, due to their hopes of getting a kiss from Shimizu, much to everyone else's annoyance.

"Tch, would you two stop it with the mistletoes? It's getting extremely annoying." Tsukishima muttered as he pinned a fuzzy green streamer from one end of the wall to another. 

"Aw, let them dream Tsukki!" Yamaguchi said from the other end of the streamer.

On the other side of the court, Kageyama was putting ornaments on the team's own personal Christmas tree, awfully quiet.

At any other time, he would have been screaming at Hinata to not drop the ornaments or to leave the star for last.

But the whole gym was quiet.

The third years looked at Kageyama sympathetically, a frown on their faces.

"He really misses Hinata." Asahi said.

"I think he's depressed." Daichi said, causing Suga to glare at him and firmly (but gently) punch his shoulder. 

"Daichi! He's not depressed, he's just lonely." he scolded. He put the papers down and stood up. "I'll go talk to him."

Sugawara slowly walked over to Kageyama, who was completely unaware of his presence until he was standing right next to him.

"Hey." Sugawara greeted as he tried to spark some conversation.

"H-Hey..." Kageyama replied, hanging up a candy cane ornament on the tree.

"The tree's looking really nice so far. Need any help?"

Kageyama absently shook his head. "I'm fine."

Sugawara frowned until an idea sprang into his head.

"Maybe you should invite Hinata over for the Christmas party! I'm sure he'd appreciate it." he said, smiling.

Kageyama thought for a moment. He was supposed to visit Hinata after school today, so maybe he could ask. He should be able to come if the doctors allowed it.

"I'll ask if he'll be able to come." Kageyama muttered.

Sugawara smiled before slapping a hand on Kageyama's back, startling the younger boy. "And cheer up! You're acting as if he's dead already! Hinata's not going anywhere for a while..." he said as he tried to reassure Kageyama.

If only he could believe his own words.

\---

Hinata lay on his back, holding his snow globe over his head as he gently shook it over and over again. The snow outside was piling up into thick sheets of white fluffy blankets and he stared outside longingly.

A needle was placed inside his abdomen, held down in place with tape, with a bag of fluids attached to it. Just yesterday, the doctors realized that he couldn't keep down any fluids, so they resorted artificial hydration. 

Hinata had panicked for a while, thinking that this meant his life was reduced. Nagisa only barely managed to calm him down.

Speaking of Nagisa, she had just walked in Hinata's room to check on him.

"How're you feeling?" she asked gently.

"Umm...okay. This thing still feels weird on my skin." he said, gesturing at the IV.

"You'll get used to it. You look a lot better than you did yesterday." Nagisa reached up and pressed her palm to Hinata's forehead. She suddenly perked up and smiled. 

"You know, we have a Patient Interaction Center just downstairs by the waiting room. Like the name suggests, it's where patients can meet other patients to, you know, talk and get to know each other more. Maybe you should go there sometime. The little ones are always eager to meet new friends."

Hinata nodded, grinning. "I'd love to!"

"I also the doctors if you could go outside again for a while to play in the snow and they said yes. You could actually go now if you're up for it."

"I am, but..." Hinata's voice trailed away and a tiny frown appeared on his lips. Nagisa understood immediately.

"You want to wait for Kageyama-kun, don't you?"

Hinata's face flushed and he stubbornly folded his arms, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout. "What, no! Pssh, I couldn't care less about that guy-!"

"It's okay. You can wait outside on the benches until he comes. Then maybe you guys can...maybe go to the park or something?"

Hinata, forgetting the passive aggressive act, sat up and grinned. "Seriously?!"

"Mmhm!"

"Uwooh! Can I get dressed now?" he asked. Nagisa nodded and then magically pulled out neatly folded winter clothing. She smiled at him before getting up from her seat and walking outside the room.

Hinata practically got dressed in the warm clothing in less than five minutes. He picked up the little beanie and carefully put on his head, making sure it was secure and snug on his head. 

He must've looked pretty strange, all bundled up in clothing with a scarf wrapped loosely around his mouth and nose. He looked like a walking pillow. A few kids passing by giggled at his appearance and he smiled and waved at them.

It wasn't as cold as Hinata thought it would be. Of course, that could have just been because he was tightly wrapped in warm clothing. He sat on the benches in front of the hospital, lightly swinging his legs as he kicked at the snow. He tipped his head back and stared at the gray sky as snowflakes fell gently on his face. 

\---

"The things I do for this dumbass..." Kageyama grumbled as he lugged a bright red sled behind him. He had sprinted home just to get this thing and now he had to drag it all the way to the hospital, then he had to drag to the park and up the hill.

He huffed as he moved the end of his scarf out of the way and walked up the street, the sled dragging behind him.

As the hospital came into sight, he noticed a small figure sitting on the benches. Bright orange hair stuck out from the beanie they had on their head.

He groaned and slapped a palm to his forehead. "You've got to be kidding me..." he muttered.

Hinata looked like he was nodding off to sleep when Kageyama approached him. He jolted awake when Kageyama gently nudged his shoulder. He jumped to his feet in shock.

"Kageyama, I didn't see you there!"

"Obviously. What are you doing out here?"

"I was waiting for you! Nagisa said we could go to the park!"

"Well, I'm glad we can. Or else I would've brought this thing with me for nothing." Kageyama muttered, nudging the sled with his foot.

Hinata stared at the sled in awe. "Is that for...?"

As soon Kageyama nodded, he was enveloped in a hug that knocked him off his feet and into the snow.

"THANK YOU, YAMAYAMA-KUN!"

"Hinata, you dumbass! Get off of me!"

\---

"I wanna build the snowman first." Hinata said when they arrived at the park.

"Why?"

"'Cause it takes longer!" 

Hinata crouched down and began to roll up snow in his hands. "By the way, how do you make a snowman?" he asked as he began to roll the little snowball in his hands.

Kageyama crouched down next to him. "How am I supposed to know? I've never built one."

Hinata pouted a little as he set the little snowball on the ground and began to roll it around. "I thought it would be easy."

Kageyama scooped up a handful of snow, shaped it into a ball, and began to roll it around the ground.

"So do we just keep rolling it until it gets big?" Hinata asked, keeping his eyes on the growing snowball between his hands.

"I guess so."

About ten minutes later, both of them had giant dirty snowballs in front of them.

"I think we went too far." Kageyama said, staring at their creations.

"Nonsense! Now we just gotta put one on top of the other!"

This was proved to be easier said than done. They both struggled to lift the middle part of the snowman, barking insults at each other throughout the whole ordeal. When they managed to finally the middle piece on top of the bottom part, it was deformed but still about the same size as it was before.

Hinata tilted his head in confusion. "Why is it so squashed up like that?"

"You leaned too far on it, you dumbass." Kageyama replied, gently flicking Hinata's ear. Hinata gave him a look before he bent down and repeated the previous action for the snowman's head. When he was done, he picked it up and slapped it on the body.

"It looks beautiful!"

"It looks hideous. The head is way too small for the body."

They both stared at the snowman with contradicting thoughts before Hinata speaks up. "Do you have anything to dress it up in?"

"What makes you think I have something?"

"Well, I don't wanna leave it naked!"

Kageyama suppressed an exaggerated groan before he picked up to branches on the ground and stuck them in the sides of the snowman.

"There. It has arms."

Hinata put a finger on his chin as if he was in deep thought. "He needs eyes, a mouth, and a nose." he said before he picked up some rocks and carefully placed them in his head with a bizarre amount of concentration. When he was done, he unraveled the scarf from around his neck and wrapped it around the snowman's.

"Now he won't be cold!"

Kageyama nearly slapped a hand to his face.

Hinata looked around the park until his eyes rested on an object on the bench. "Hey, there's a hat right there!"

A gray fedora lay damp and cold on the bench. Hinata ran over to it and picked it up.

"Dumbass, that's someone else's. You can't just take it." Kageyama lightly scolded as Hinata stood on his tiptoes and placed the fedora on the snowman.

"I'm not. When they come back to get it, they'll see that they provided a snowman a hat!"

Hinata stepped back and observed the creation before him. "I think it looks amazing, don't you think?" he asked Kageyama, who stared at the snowman before shrugging. "It's okay."

Hinata pouted but it quickly disappeared when he ran over to the sled and began to drag it up the hill. "Let's go sledding now! Help me with this thing."

With Kageyama's help, Hinata managed to get the sled all the way at the top of the hill. He looked down. The descent was pretty long.

Perfect.

Grinning, he placed himself on the front of the sled and sat down with his knees to his chest. He looked over his shoulder at Kageyama and gestured for him to come. "Kageyama, hurry up and get on!"

Kageyama immediately shook his head and took a step back. "No way."

Hinata's grin fell from his face. "Y-You're not coming? It'll be fun."

Kageyama hesitated. Hinata sighed and turned back around, his lips trembling. "Okay..."

Great. Now he felt like an asshole. Kageyama groaned before plopping down behind Hinata, who's depressed mood was immediately lifted.

Kageyama scooted a little bit farther so that Hinata's back was pressed up against his chest and he was trapped between his arms as he gripped the head of the sled.

Hinata tilted his head up to look at Kageyama and smiled. "On three?"

Kageyama, blushing at the close proximity of the two, shyly nodded.

"You start." Hinata said as he prepared to kick off the hill.

Kageyama's heart began to pound. He had never gone sledding before, so he had no idea what to do.

"O-One-"

"THREE!" 

Hinata kicked off the hill and the sled slid down the hill at a surprisingly fast speed. Snow sprang from the ground as they both screamed in both excitement and fright. Their hair whipped through the wind and Kageyama lost his hat in the process.

When they finally reached the bottom, the tip of the sled hit a pile of snow and propelled the two teenagers off and into the snow, Kageyama landing on top of Hinata.

Hinata, still cackling with excitement, looked up at Kageyama, who's face was covered in snow.

"LET'S DO THAT AGAIN!"

"DUMBASS, WHAT HAPPENED TO TWO?!"

"You would've chickened out if we waited! It was fun though, right?"

Kageyama pouted as he averted his eyes from Hinata's. "I guess..."

Hinata giggled as he reached up and pinched Kageyama's cheeks. "See? I told you."

Kageyama's cheeks turned red when he noticed the position they were in and he scrambled off the smaller boy, who smirked at his reaction.

"Kageyama, you're really cute when you're flustered!"

"SHUT UP!"

8.) Go sledding (Completed)

9.) Build a snowman (Completed)

\---

After about three more sled rides, Kageyama brought Hinata back to the hospital. Hinata thanked him nonstop before he went back inside, Kageyama waiting until he walked through the doors before leaving himself.

Hinata sighed in content as he walked through the hallways, slipping off his gloves and unzipping his jacket was he stepped inside his room.

As he stood in front of the mirror, he took of his beanie and began to fluff out his hair, which was slightly matted down.

As he ran his fingers through his hair, he froze and retracted his hand.

His eyes widened in horror.

Thick clumps of orange hair were trapped between his fingers. Some were scattered on the floor.

His lips began to tremble as he slowly leaned towards the mirror and brought a quivering hand to his head. Tears began to stream down his cheeks as his fingers brushed over bare patches on his scalp.

He tried to muffle his sobs by covering his mouth with his hand but with no avail.

"Why...? Why...?"


	9. Chapter 9

Kageyama speed walked down the halls, berating himself as he rushed through the halls.

'Damn it! I can't believe I forgot to tell him about the Christmas party!' he angrily thought as he turned the corner and walked until he arrived in front of Hinata's door.

He knocked three times. "Hinata."

No answer.

He knocked again, slightly harder this time. "Hinata, it's me. Can I come in?"

Silence.

Kageyama's heart began to pound for some reason. "Hinata? I'm coming in." he said as he quickly opened the door.

The lights were off. The curtains were closed. A hunched figure wrapped in a blanket was curled up on the bed. Hinata seemed to look over his shoulder with wide frightened eyes, pulling the blankets closer to him. "Kageyama, is that you?" he whimpered.

Kageyama breathed a sigh of relief. "Dumbass, why didn't you answer? Why're the lights turned off-"

"Go away," Hinata interrupted, his voice wavering. "Close the door."

Kageyama widened his eyes and frowned. "Hinata?"

Hinata didn't say anything else. He only pulled the blankets even closer to him, his body beginning to tremble.

Kageyama slowly stepped inside, gently closing the door behind him. "Hinata, what's wrong?" he asked, inching toward the bed. Hinata's body seemed to tremble even more.

"Hinata, please. Tell me what's wrong!" his voice raised in volume as he put a hand on Hinata's blanketed shoulder.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Hinata wailed, flinching away from Kageyama's touch. "Don't look at me..." he whimpered as sobs began to shake his body. 

Kageyama bit his lip and he pulled up a chair next to Hinata's bed and sat down. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what happened!"

Hinata was silent as he scrunched himself in a ball, sobbing into the pillow. Kageyama felt hot fresh tears well up in his eyes but he forced them not to fall as he listened to Hinata's sobs.

He waited and waited until Hinata's sobs reduced to small whimpers and sniffles. 

Another minute passed.

And another.

And another before Hinata finally croaked out.

"...I'm hideous..."

Kageyama's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

Hinata slowly sat up, his grip on the blanket loosening. "My hair..." he whimpered. He reluctantly slid the blanket off of him and Kageyama widened his eyes in shock.

Nearly all of Hinata's beautiful orange locks had fallen out, leaving only clumps of hair on his scalp in some places. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot from crying and dried tear tracks littered his cheeks.

"H-Hinata-"

"I know! I look disgusting!" Hinata yelled, shutting his eyes and clenching the blanket in his fists. 

"I wasn't going to say that-!"

"Nagisa said it was gonna happen and I thought I could handle it, but I can't! I just can't! I'm scared and I hate myself for it!" Hinata began to sob again, his tears dripping off his chin and onto the mattress. 

"Hinata, there's nothing wrong with being scared. And don't say those things about yourself!"

Hinata shook his head. "But it's true! You can't tell me that people aren't going to stare at me every time I go out, because they will! They will because I'm so fucking hideous!"

Kageyama had had enough. He reached up and held Hinata's tear streaked face in his hands, forcing him to look at him.

"Hey! Listen to me and listen well: I don't ever want to hear you talk shit about yourself again. Ever. Do you hear me?"

"B-But-"

Kageyama's gently squeezed Hinata's cheeks, shutting him up. "No buts! You're not ugly, you understand? Hair doesn't mean shit to a person's appearance! And so what if people stare at you. They won't be staring at you because they'll think you're a freak or something. They'll be staring at you because of how strong you are."

Hinata couldn't help crying again. He reached up to wipe his eyes but Kageyama quickly wrapped his arms around his body, pressing his face into his shoulder. Hinata gripped Kageyama's shirt in his fists as he sobbed into his shoulder.

Kageyama tightened his hold on the smaller boy, his hand stroking his hairless head as his own tears formed in his eyes again.

Everything was just so unfair...

\---

~Meanwhile in Tokyo~

Kenma went over the list of things he had to pack in his suitcase about a hundred times. By the end of the day, he came to the conclusion he was ready for the bus ride to Miyagi.

He turned his phone off and wrapped his fingers around the handle of his suitcase, rolling it to the door. As soon as he opened the door, he walked right into someone's chest. Rubbing his nose, he raised his head to look up at the person in front of him.

Cat-like eyes and a raven mop of bedhead.

"Don't try to stop me. I'm going." he automatically said, walking around Kuroo while closing and locking the door to his apartment.

Kuroo watched Kenma in mild amusement as he followed him down the breezeway. "I'm not. You wouldn't listen anyway."

Kenma huffed a little as he continued to speed walk to the bus stop.

"Listen, Kenma... Say hi to Karasuno's #10 for us from Nekoma, alright?"

The whole Nekoma volleyball team heard about Hinata's condition from Daichi, Kenma being the most affected due to his close relationship with the first year. After about three weeks of waiting for Hinata to send him a text or for Karasuno to update on his illness, he couldn't handle the pressure anymore and decided to see his friend for himself.

"How long will you be there?" Kuroo asked.

"Daichi-san said that Shouyou had eight months to live, so I'll stay for as long as that. I've already informed Nekomata-sensei that I'll be gone for a while. 

"I see."

When they got the bus stop, Kenma sat down on the bench and took out his phone to pass the time. Kuroo stood by the bench, leaning on bus stop sign as he waited for the bus with Kenma.

It took about ten minutes before the bus finally arrived. Kenma turned his phone off and stuffed it his pocket, standing up and grabbing his suitcase. Just as he was about to step on the bus, Kuroo called after him.

"Oi, Kenma." 

Kenma looked over his shoulder at his best friend. Kuroo gave him one of his famous smirks and a thumbs up. "Good luck over there."

Kenma nodded and wiggled his fingers in a wave before stepping on the bus. Kuroo watched until it disappeared in sight.

Kenma sat on an empty seat, sighing.

He knew what Kuroo was referring to when he said that.

Something that Kuroo told him when Kenma first told him that he was going to Miyagi to see Hinata.

"Be prepared for whatever happens there. Physically, emotionally, and mentally."


	10. Chapter 10

Despite what Kageyama had said to him, Hinata was still self conscious about his hair loss issue. He still didn't want to go outside, but Kageyama didn't complain.

Kageyama had promised him that he would come visit him as soon as he finished volleyball practice, which Hinata was extremely grateful for.

However, it still didn't raise his spirits. He still had the curtains closed and the lights turned off as he sadly played with his snow globe, awaiting for Kageyama's arrival.

Someone knocked on his door and in habit, he brought the blankets up to cover his hairless scalp. "C-Come in..." 

The door opened and Nagisa peeked her head through the door.

"Hello, Hinata-kun."

Nagisa was one of the only two people he was comfortable in showing his appearance to. He tugged the covers down and smiled at her. "Hi."

"How are you?" she asked as she completely walked inside the room, gently shutting the door behind her.

Hinata hesitated, biting his bottom lip. Nagisa sighed as she mentally berated herself. "I know, that was a stupid question." she said apologetically.

Hinata shook his head. "It's alright. I feel a little better than yesterday."

Nagisa smiled before she gave Hinata a quick check up.

"Remember, the hair loss is a symptom from the treatment. Not the illness itself, so your condition hasn't worsened."

Hinata nodded in understanding and Nagisa stood up. She looked up and frowned. "Why do you have the curtains closed? You need some sunlight in here!" she said as she reached up and yanked the curtains open, illuminating the room with sunlight.

Hinata groaned and was about to dive under the covers before Nagisa stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You need some sun."

"I don't wanna see sun right now..."

"You're getting pale again and that's not good for you."

Hinata pouted. "So?"

Nagisa sighed before she magically pulled out a stack of clothing. "Get dressed."

Hinata stared at the stack of clothing, his nose scrunching up. "You know I don't wanna go outside right now!"

"You're not."

Hinata looked up at Nagisa in confusion. "Huh? Then where-"

"If you're not going to go outside, you're going to at least get out of this room. I'm taking you to the Patient Interaction Center so you can talk to people other than Kageyama."

Hinata looked down at the ground. He didn't want anyone else to see him like this.

"I know you're worried about your appearance, and you don't have to be. We have patients missing limbs down there. No one is going to judge you because of a hairless head, Hinata." Nagisa smiled at him.

Hinata sighed before he reluctantly nodded. Nagisa gave him a pat on the shoulder before she turned away and walked towards the door. "I'll be waiting outside." she said before she went out the room.

Hinata took his time dressing himself, trying to push away the feeling of dread. He put on the beanie and made sure it was securely around his head before he opened the door and walked out.

Nagisa walked down the hallway with Hinata closely behind her. He passed by some patients in wheelchairs and other nurses and doctors. He never noticed how big the hospital was until now, considering that it took them awhile to get to the Patient Interaction Center.

The large room had a long large glass window so people from the outside can observe the inside. Nagisa opened the door and gently nudged Hinata inside.

There were mostly little kids, with a few teenagers and the elderly. The little kids were nearly all over the place, playing with each other while the teenagers watched the TV in the room together, occasionally chatting to one another. The elders conversed near the corner of the room.

"You'll love it here," Nagisa said to Hinata. "I'll come back for you later, okay?"

Hinata nodded before Nagisa left the room. He quickly sat on the bench near the door, nervously playing with his shirt. Everyone here must have been here for quite a while to be so comfortable and have made some friends.

No one really acknowledged him. A boy that looked a bit older than him glanced at him before turning his eyes back to the TV and an elderly woman smiled at him before turning back to her friends.

He sighed as he reached forward and grabbed a magazine from off the coffee table, pretending to be interested in it.

That was when he heard a commotion beside him.

"Give that back!" a small voice yelled. Hinata looked to the side and saw a little girl who looked about six or seven reaching her hands up to a small sun hat that was being held up by an older boy, who was flanked by other kids who looked about nine years old.

But that wasn't what caught Hinata's attention.

What did was that the little girl's head was rid of hair.

The boy pushed the smaller kid back, cackling. "Holy crap, look at that! She's only six and she's already bald!" he jeered and the other kids laughed.

The little girl huffed and stomped her foot. "It's not funny! I'm sick!" she yelled but her voice fell on deaf ears.

Hinata looked around, noticing that everyone was trying to ignore the situation. He frowned as his grip tightened on the magazine, wrinkling the paper.

"Aren't you too young to be bald? Are you an old person in a kid's body?"

"Give me my hat back!" the girl yelled again before she tried to jump up and snatch her hat back. The boy scoffed before he shoved her again, this time making her lose her balance and fall to the ground.

"No wonder you always wore this thing every time you came here! You were trying to hide your baldness!" the boy continued to jeer.

Hinata shut his eyes tight when the girl's quiet sniffles and whimpers met his ears.

"Baldy, baldy!" the other kids began to sing and that was when Hinata drew the line. He angrily slammed the magazine down on the table, got up, and stomped over to the kids.

He came up from behind the boy and snatched the hat from him. Clearly not expecting that, the boy looked over his shoulder and frowned up at him. "Hey, what's-"

"Enough!" Hinata exclaimed, glaring around at the older kids. "You ought to be ashamed of yourselves! How dare you treat someone like this? She can't help it if she lost her hair! By making fun of her like this, you're disrespecting other people who have the same illness as her, including me!" he yelled. He didn't know what came over him, but to prove his point, he snatched off his hat, revealing his bald head.

The little girl's eyes widened and her lips parted in shock. Hinata's outburst caused other people in the room to stare at the scene.

One of the older kids had the grace to look ashamed, staring down at her shoes while the others looked defiant, though they didn't dare say anything to Hinata, who continued to glare down at them. The leader huffed before he stomped away, his friends closely following him. 

The older girl who looked ashamed hesitated, glancing at the younger girl on the floor before she scurried off for the others.

Hinata took a deep breath, calming himself down before he knelt down in front the little girl, holding out her hat. "Here you go." he said, smiling at her.

She looked up at him a bit longer before she gingerly took the hat from his hands. "T-Thank you." 

"No problem. Does that happen every time you come here?" Hinata asked.

The girl shook her head. "They do tease me a little, but they didn't know I had no hair until he snatched my hat off."

Hinata frowned. "Have you told anyone about it?"

"Mhm. But they always say ignore them." 

The girl suddenly perked up and grinned up at him, her eyes shining. "But you! You're so brave and cool!" she exclaimed, surprising Hinata.

"H-Huh?"

"You took your hat off on your own! I never could have done that!" she said as she put her hat back on. Hinata rubbed the back of his neck. "W-Well, they made me pretty mad as well."

"What's your name?" the girl asked.

"My names Hinata. Hinata Shouyou."

"Cool name! My names Yoshida Ushio, but you can call me Yoshi or Ushio, since that's what my mommy and my friends call me."

Hinata's smile grew. "It's nice to meet you, Yoshi."

\---

Kageyama left as soon as volleyball practice was over, quickly unlocking his bike from the rack and pedaling down the road to the hospital.

He had to admit, he was worried about Hinata throughout the whole day, his mind repeatedly going back to how depressed Hinata was yesterday.

In his haste to get to the hospital, Kageyama nearly got hit by a car and almost ran over a cat, who hissed at him as he passed by.

As soon as the hospital came into sight, he jumped off the bike, locked it to the rack, and ran inside, earning himself a few stares from people passing by.

As he rushed through the halls, he nearly crashed into someone when he turned the corner. Nagisa almost dropped the supplies she was holding.

"S-Sorry, Muramatsu-san! I-I'm in quite a hurry-"

"For Hinata?" Nagisa interrupted, a mischievous smirk on her face. Kageyama's face turned different shades of red as he reluctantly nodded.

"Well, you're going the wrong way then. Hinata's not in his room."

Something made Kageyama's heart drop. "W-What happened to him?"

Noticing Kageyama's change in mood, she quickly shook her head. "Nothing happened to him! He's just in the Patient Interaction Center, is all. It's a place where patients well enough inside the hospital can interact with each other during their stay here."

"I see." Kageyama breathed out a sigh of relief.

"I can still take you to him." Nagisa said and, without waiting for Kageyama to respond, began to lead him down the hall.

Nagisa took him to a large room with a long glass window that allowed him to see the inside of it. He automatically knew that the people inside were other patients in the hospital.

Nagisa scanned the area before she smiled and pointed. "Oh, there he is! And he's got a little friend!"

Kageyama's eyes followed the direction in which Nagisa was pointing too and saw Hinata sitting on the bench holding up a magazine, a little girl sitting next to him as she pointed to the magazine, her lips moving at a fast pace. Hinata seemed to respond in the same enthusiastic pace and they both shared a laugh.

"You know, I'm just remembering that that little girl's another cancer patient here. I have a feeling she and Hinata will get along just fine." Nagisa said.

Kageyama's lips curled into a small smile as he watched the scene before him.

"I can tell." he whispered, happy to see Hinata's beautiful smile again.


	11. Chapter 11

Hinata and Ushio had already formed a strong bond even though they had just met. It was like something connected between the two patients.

"Do you go outside sometimes?" Ushio asked as she began to pull out a little yellow toy box placed beside the wall.

"Yeah, sometimes." Hinata said, flipping another page of the magazine.

"You're so lucky!" Ushio said enviously, her bottom lip poking out adorably. Hinata looked up from the magazine at the little girl. "What do you mean?"

"My mommy doesn't let me go outside. She said that I'll just get sicker." Ushio said as she began to stack colorful Legos on top of one another.

Hinata frowned as he slowly closed the magazine. "Ushio, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure!"

"What type of cancer do you have?"

Ushio looked up at the ceiling with squinted eyes as she thought hard for a moment before her eyes widened. "Oh! It has something to do with my tummy."

'She has stomach cancer...' Hinata immediately thought, his heart twisting at the image of a little girl as small as Ushio experiencing agonizing stomach pains.

"Like, my tummy hurts a lot and I don't get very hungry," Ushio continued, concentrating on her little castle she was in the process of building. "But mommy makes me eat something, but then I throw it all up."

Hinata nodded in understanding. "I see..."

He looked up when he noticed a flash of raven hair and his eyes perked up when he saw Kageyama in the window. He smiled and waved. Kageyama waved back.

Ushio looked to where Hinata was waving at and stared at Kageyama. "Who's that?"

"Oh, he's my best friend."

"He looks scary..." Ushio eyed Kageyama through wary eyes.

"He is, but he can be real sweet."

Kageyama opened the door and walked in, feeling a little out of place in the room. Hinata patted the spot next to him, silently telling Kageyama to come sit next to him. Kageyama tiptoed his way through the scattered toys and sat down next to Hinata.

"I wasn't expecting you to come today. " Hinata said, his legs gently swinging under the bench.

"I-I just wanted to check up on you... You...kinda...really had me worried yesterday." Kageyama muttered, his cheeks turning into an embarrassing shade of pink.

Hinata's cheeks nearly turned the same color and he began to play with his fingers. "Oh...I'm okay... I kinda got used to it, to be honest." he said.

Meanwhile, Ushio was looking from Hinata to Kageyama, then back again. She noticed Kageyama's red cheeks and Hinata nervously playing with his fingers.

It all made sense now!

Ushio stood up and walked over to Kageyama, leaning on his knee as he stared back at her in confusion.

"U-Um... Hi?" Kageyama stammered at the little girl.

"Are you Sho-chan's boyfriend?" Ushio asked with a big smile on her face.

Not giving Kageyama a chance to reply, Hinata quickly shoved him aside. "Of course he's not, he's just a friend! Right, Kageyama? Aren't we the best of friends?" he elbows Kageyama's side and Kageyama's nodding his head vigorously.

"T-That's right! Just friends!"

"But I read that when someone likes another person, their cheeks get all pink and red!" Ushio insisted, poking a small finger into Kageyama's cheek.

"Where did you even read that-?"

Nagisa stepped inside the room, unknowingly saving the two boys from further embarrassment.

"Okay, Shio-chan, I think that's enough for now. It's time for your daily treatment anyway."

Ushio let out a low groan as she pouted and began to pack up the blocks she was playing with. After she was finished, Nagisa took her small hand into her own.

Ushio looked over her shoulder and waved. "Bye, Hinata! Bye, Kageyama!"

Hinata grinned and waved back, as did Kageyama.

"She was...interesting." Kageyama said, turning his head to Hinata. "Yeah, but she's a real sweet girl. I hope she's able to get out of here soon."

There was a short silence between the two before Kageyama finally broke it.

"Oh! U-Um, I was supposed to tell you about this a while ago, but the team is having their annual Christmas party at the gym on December 25th. We were hoping you could come and join us."

Hinata looked down at his shoes. It was true that he deeply missed his team, and he would love to join them for that special day, but...

"W-What if-" he began, only to have Kageyama cut him off.

"If you're worried about them staring at and all that other stuff, they won't. They'll look at you just like they have before. As a friend and a teammate, not some alien from another planet."

Hinata bit his lip. "I-I'll think about it..." he said.

Kageyama nodded before getting up from his seat and stretching. "Oh, I got you this while I was out." Kageyama said as he dug into his bag and pulled out a multi-colored cube. Hinata's lit up as he stood up and took the Rubik's cube from Kageyama's hands.

"Whoa, they actually still sell these?!" he exclaimed as he began to twist and turn the small cube.

"No duh, dumbass. It was all the rage back in the old days, now let's go." Kageyama grabbed Hinata's wrist and pulled him out of the room. Hinata never took his eyes off the Rubik's cube, as he quickly got frustrated with the little toy.

"Agh... Damn it, who came up with this?!" he grumbled, struggling to match the red squares with each other. "Like, who down one day to invent a new toy for kids to play with only to say 'Oh, hey! I'm gonna make a different colored cube puzzle thing to piss people off!'."

Kageyama rolls his eyes. "It's really not that difficult. I've solved one before."

"No way. Seriously?"

"Yeah, I can help you solve that one if you want."

Hinata recoils, holding the cube to his chest. "Then that'd defeat the whole purpose of the list! I wanna try to solve it on my own."

The two teens were about to enter the waiting room when Kageyama stops straight in his tracks, Hinata crashing into his back.

"Oi, what gives?" Hinata looked up at Kageyama, whose eyes were wide with shock. Hinata followed Kageyama's gaze and, a small gasp escaping from his parted lips, his own eyes widened in shock.

Blonde chin length hair.

Dark roots.

Red jacket.

Topaz eyes.

Kenma was at the front desk, talking to the woman behind it. His eyes were half-lidded and his hair was ruffled. He was obviously exhausted.

"Kenma!" Hinata shouted, causing the older boy to turn his head towards him.

"Shouyou..." 

A smile crosses Hinata's face while Kageyama stands there in shock. "Wow! What are you doing here? Did you come all this way from Tokyo? You should've told me you were coming-"

Hinata was interrupted by Kenma rushing forward and wrapping his arms around his body, his face buried in his shoulder. Hinata stumbled backward from the impact as he looked down at Kenma's trembling body. "K-Kenma, what's-"

"I heard... I heard about everything..." Kenma whimpered, and Hinata felt his shoulder get wet. "You having cancer and a chance of you..." Kenma's voice trailed away as he tightened his grip around Hinata. "I just couldn't..."

Hinata felt his heart begin to crumble as he slowly returned the hug, glancing at Kageyama briefly before looking back down at Kenma, who sobbed quietly in his shoulder.

Kageyama stood next to them, averting his eyes away, feeling guilty as he felt a little piece of his own heart crumble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was posted on Wattpad about a week ago, so yeah. Hope you enjoy!

**Author's Note:**

> As said before, I am SunshineBlueberry! I decided to post this story on AO3 as well because I kinda want it to be known on more than just one site. Hope you guys like it as much as The Crow's Nest, which I didn't expect to get so much recognition. Thanks so much for that :)


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